Auxiliary support for water skiers



A G. T. ROBERTS 2,738,525

AUXILIARY SUPPORT FOR WATER SKIERS March 20, 1956 Filed March 27, 1953 United States Patent- This invention relates to Waterskiing. and more .parsticuiarly to anauxiliary support adapted to besecured fil tothe tow .vessel and used by the water skier-.to enable i the skiertoassume the planing position. easily and safely.

lfl`l1e,popularity ofwater skiing is ever increasing.; but it is considered that the sport is kept. from achieving its full popularity through the .diiiiculties encountered by the skier in changing from the static .picllr-uppositionl to` they: high` velocity planing or skiing position.

Heretofore `it has been customary for the water' skier to tion his. skis and stand inshallow water withhis .skis resting. on the ybottom of the lake orthe like. The. tow vessel isbrought in close to the shore and the tow rope grasped :by theskier. -The tow vessel then proceeds to get under way,.dragging the skier behind. Itis .atthis critical. point, 'wher'the speed of the vessel and the skier are. slowrth-at water skiing is most diiicnlt. Thefforward motion of the towyessel is transmitted tothe skiervia the tow rope and has a tendency kto upset him because of the drag on the skis on the bottom of the lake. If the skier is` successful in getting olf the bottom,v he` still hasa tendency to upset because the pu-ll of the tow rope coupled with .the drag of the submerged skis tends'. to somersault lthe skier. The skier must overcome. theften dency to.somersault.by leaning rearwardly and elevating theforward portions of his skis so that hewillrise to lsurface of the Water and `his .skis will plane ,over the surface. This necessary procedure is the only certain way toassume the planing position and can be.executed..suc-vv cessfully only after considerable experience. The.. inex- ,perienced water skier is subjected tothe unfamiliar. forces .exerted by theskis, the water, and the towvessel andflnds himself subjected to these forces at an ever.;increasing speed `which frequently producesconfusion andconsternaJ Another object of the invention is'to provide an aux-1 iliary support which aids the skier in assuming the planing position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary support which does not interfere with the skier when he leaves the support.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary support which causes no appreciable drag on the towing vessel.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary support which can be attached to either an inboard or outboard motor boat without modification of either the boat or the support.

A further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary support having means enabling it to be connected wonder nyen- 2,738,525 Patented Mar. 20, 1956 ICC te@ vessel withauf danser 0f injury to the Skier O f tl-tsuapartf object of the invention is to provide an auxiliarysupport for water skiers which is capable of being storage, wA further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary support which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture but whichisrugged and durable in construction. The seand further objects andadvantages of thefinven- Vtion s 'peccally .pointed outforwill become apparent ma reading of .the specification whenfconsidered conjunction'withj the accompanying drawingwherein Figj'flfis afperspectiveview of the novelauxiliay support showingit as it would .appear .when connected tofa pwmgyesseh Eig. is'aplan View of the support as shown inlig `1; .Fig. 3 i s` aside elevational View of the support; Eig. `4 islasideview,` partially in cross-section, .ofthe oo nn'ectipit,ofthe support to the rear .of a tolwfvessel;

FigfS isI a cross-sectional view taken on the line'--S @tagte and `lig. 6 .i .'s .fa cross-sectional view taken on the lineof-Fig. 3..` Y y 4Referring now to the drawingwherein likeV numerals represent "like ,and corresponding parts 'throughout' several'views, the embodiment of the invention shown ltherein. for illustrativepurposes comprises Whatis-lier'ein tfe'r'metl., ajglider l21,0 pivotally connected to .a pair Lof vdrayv .b v1`1 which in turn'are hingedly ycon nectetl to ltow qsse l. 1z A` More. .p articularly, the glider'10 is essentially a mod i- .fiedfwater ski having .a superstructurev mounted thereon on whichawater skier may be supported. The sup- .port .10 consistsof a` runner 13- having a bowed- .upwardly foldedintoa cgzrnpact'unit for ease of transportation and of a. .pivotfpin or bolt 16. The` runner `13 has secured ,theretoa numberof studs '17 whicha're secured. `t'o and .s p port an elongated .seating deck or board 1`8. dir ect1y ove uriner 1 3. Deck 18 is apertured as at 19 at its l16 passes ithrough both draw bars 11, deck 18 and runner 1 enabling the bars and the support to pivot relative to each other. The elements of the structure are maintained in =proper..relationship by the head 2 2 ,of bolt 1 6 aridanut 23 threaded on'the Aend of the bolt. 'foprovideY 1 -hrm tion and top elininate wear on the under side ,of run- 13a substantially triangular block 2.4 is interposed .be een.runner.` 13 and nut 23. In Vcorlnect i t '1.ig theltwo b "'theQdeck, and the runner togetherA by the singlepin b L16.,"thefc'oru'lectioti` is not'tightfandrigidbut is her loose Iso that there is suflicient'play between the nega zzP of belt 1 6 and den; 1s to permifthepbais 111,10

move xup or' downwith respect to the declcbut there is insuiicient play to permit the lblock24 to turn.l

When the auxiliary support is to beattached to a tow boat, the forward ends 21 of the bars 11 are spread to a width approximating the width of the boat. The ends of the arms are slotted as at 25 for reception of the eye sections of eye-bolts 27. Two eye-bolts 27 are provided, one at each side of the rear of the boat 12, or as widely spaced as practicable, to provide a stable, three point connection which precludes the possibility of the auX- iliary support tipping. The spreading of the arms 11 enables an outboard motor (not shown) to be mounted on the rear of the boat in the usual manner without interference from the support 10 or the arms 11.

To prevent the bars 1l from becoming unconnected from the eye-bolts 27, a pair of anchor links are provided, each of which comprises a headed bolt 29 equipped with a washer 30 adjacent the head and another washer 31 adjacent the nut 32. The bolt 29 is of suicient length to span the arm 11 and the washers 30, 31 are disposed between the head and nut, respectively, and the sides of the arm 11 with the bolt itself lying atop arm 11 and inserted through the eye of the eye-bolt 27. This construction permits the arms to hinge about the eye-bolts but positively prohibits the arms from pulling free from the eye-bolts.

When it is desired to connect the auxiliary support to a tow vessel, the arms 11 are secured to the rear of the vessel so that the glider lies astern. The glider will assume the position illustrated in Fig. 3 and will sink sub stantially no farther in the water. This antisinking feature is an important feature of the invention and is ac complshed by the binding action between the bolt 16 and the ends 20 of arms 11 abutting the top of deck 18. The depth to which the glider initially stands in the water is controlled by the length of the ends of the arms 20 which extend rearwardly of the apertures 19. In the embodiment illustrated, the ends 20 extend a suicient length that the glider is approximately half submerged when the tow vessel is standing still.

The water skier seats himself on the glider with his skis 33 on either side and submerged to whatever depth he desires. The skier may either hold onto the deck 18 or to the tow rope (not shown) which will be secured to the boat. The skier will receive total support from the auxiliary support 10 so it is unnecessary for him to start in shallow water with his skis on the bottom of the lake. As the tow boat gets under way, the auxiliary support will itself begin to plane raising the skier farther out of the water. Further speed will enable the skier to support himself on his skis 33 which need never be very deep in the water and as the speed of the tow vessel increases the skier may gradually raise himself from the deck 18 until finally his entire weight is borne by his skis 33. At this point the tow rope may be payed out so that the skier will be at a proper distance behind the tow vessel.

As the weight of the skier is removed from the auxiliary support it is conceivable that rough or choppy water could flip the auxiliary support counterclockwise about its hinged connection to the tow vessel and cause injury to the water skier. To eliminate this possibility the ends 21 of draw bars 11 are suiciently long so that upon rotation they will engage the upper portion of the tow vessel 12 and, in cooperation with the eye-bolt 27 and the bolt 29, preclude the support from flipping upwardly a distance sufcient to cause injury.

Although the amount of hinging about eye-bolts 27 is limited, there is suicient free travel that the glider may rise and plane along the surface of the Water so that the support creates no appreciable drag on the tow vessel.

When the skier desires to remove the auxiliary support from the tow vessel, it is a simple matter to remove the bolts 29 and disconnect draw bars 11 from the eye-bolts 27. The draw bars 11 may then be pivoted so as to lie along deck 18 to make a compact unit which conveniently may be transported and stored.

The auxiliary support disclosed herein provides a firm support for a skier so that he is not subjected to the combination of forces which violently tend to upset him. When using the auxiliary support the skier is required to merely keep his skies parallel and pointed slightly upwardly so they will begin to plane when the rate of travel through the water is sufficiently fast. By the elimination of the forces adversely affecting the skier the feeling of apprehension is largely dissipated and even the most inexperienced water skier may enjoy the sport. One especially significant feature of the invention is the elimination of the necessity of the tow vessel returning to shallow water to pick-up the skier. Should the skier lose his balance while in deep water, the tow vessel need only return to the locality of the fall. The skier may then board the support and begin again without having to wait while the vessel returns to a shallow spot so that the skier may stand upright.

Although but one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it is obvious that many changes may be made in the shape, size, detail, and arrangement of the various elements within the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

l. In combination a tow vessel having a tow device for a water skier leading from said vessel, laterally spaced tow points on said Vessel, paired ltow bars connected to said tow points extending rearwardly outwardly of said vessel and converging toward one another so as to connect at the extending ends at an apex forming a triangulated side wise inflexible tow point rearward outwardly of said vessel, and an auxiliary ski connected to both said tow bars at their extending apex; said auxiliary ski being positioned to provide the water skier with a hand grip to aid the skier in attaining an upright position during the initial starting period.

2. In a device as to assist a water skier to attain a planing position on his skis behind a tow vessel, paired tow bars adapted to be attached at one end of each bar at laterally spaced points on the stern of the vessel with said bars converging to an apex connected to each other rearwardly outwardly of the vessel forming a sidewise inflexible tow point outwardly rearwardly of the vessel and an auxiliary ski connected to said tow bars at their connected apex; said auxiliary ski being suitable to provide a hand grip for a water skier to assist a water skier in attaining buoyancy and balance at the initiation of towing.

3. In a device as set forth in claim 2, a superstructure on said auxiliary ski providing an elevated hand grip for the water skier.

4. In a. device as set forth in claim 2, said tow bars being pivotally mounted in a vertical plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,736,156 Harter Nov. 19, 1929 2,568,549 Kluttz Sept. 18, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 499,859 Belgium Mar. 31, 1951 

